Healthy job prospects for polytechnic graduates as Singapore transitions to living with COVID-19
Published on 13 Jan 2023
Singapore, 13 January 2023 – The 2022 Polytechnic Graduate Employment Survey (GES) found that 91.8% of polytechnic graduates in the labour force found jobs within six months of graduation or after completion of full-time National Service, comparable to the 92.2% in 2021 (see Table 1). The median gross monthly salary of graduates in full-time permanent employment increased from $2,500 in 2021 to $2,600 in 2022.
2 Among the 7,085 polytechnic graduate survey respondents in the labour force, 59% were in full-time permanent employment, while 26.9% were in part‐time/temporary employment. Another 2.2% had either accepted a job offer or were actively starting a business venture. Similar to previous years, about half the polytechnic graduates in part-time/temporary employment were concurrently pursuing or preparing to begin further studies.
Table 1: Employment Indicators from 2020 to 2022
Proportion of Respondents in the Labour Force who were: |
Fresh Graduates |
Post-NS (PNS) Graduates |
Combined (Fresh and PNS Graduates) |
||||||
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Employed |
85.4% |
91.4% |
91.4% |
91.9% |
94.2% |
92.7% |
87.4% |
92.2% |
91.8% |
In Full-Time Permanent Employment |
45.8% |
56.0% |
56.1% |
65.5% |
63.3% |
65.4% |
52.0% |
58.1% |
59.0% |
Freelancing |
2.8% |
3.4% |
4.0% |
6.0% |
7.8% |
10.1% |
3.8% |
4.7% |
5.9% |
In Part-Time/Temporary Employment |
36.8% |
31.9% |
31.3% |
20.4% |
23.2% |
17.2% |
31.6% |
29.4% |
26.9% |
Voluntary |
32.8% |
30.3% |
30.2% |
17.1% |
20.9% |
16.2% |
27.9% |
27.6% |
25.8% |
Involuntary |
3.9% |
1.6% |
1.1% |
3.3% |
2.3% |
1.0% |
3.8% |
1.8% |
1.1% |
Unemployed |
14.6% |
8.6% |
8.6% |
8.1% |
5.8% |
7.3% |
12.6% |
7.8% |
8.2% |
Unemployed but starting work soon or actively starting a business venture |
3.4% |
2.9% |
2.3% |
1.9% |
1.4% |
2.2% |
2.9% |
2.5% |
2.2% |
Unemployed and still looking for a job |
11.2% |
5.7% |
6.3% |
6.2% |
4.4% |
5.1% |
9.6% |
5.3% |
5.9% |
Median Gross Monthly Salary of those who are in Full-Time Permanent Employment |
$2,350 |
$2,400 |
$2,550 |
$2,500 |
$2,614 |
$2,800 |
$2,400 |
$2,500 |
$2,600 |
Note: The percentages may not add up due to rounding off.
3 Across all course clusters, the median gross monthly salaries of graduates increased compared to 2021. Graduates from Health Sciences, Information & Digital Technologies and Engineering received median gross monthly salaries that were higher than the overall median for all graduates (see Table 2).
Table 2: Median Gross Monthly Salary by Course Clusters for Fresh Graduates and Post-NS Graduates (Full-Time Permanent Employed only) from 2020 to 2022
Course Cluster |
Fresh Graduates |
Post-NS (PNS) Graduates |
Combined (Fresh and PNS Graduates) |
||||||
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Arts, Design & Media |
$2,000 |
$2,100 |
$2,300 |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
$2,625 |
$2,100 |
$2,200 |
$2,500 |
Built Environment |
$2,230 |
$2,350 |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
$2,550 |
$2,800 |
$2,345 |
$2,400 |
$2,535 |
Business |
$2,100 |
$2,200 |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
$2,519 |
$2,890 |
$2,200 |
$2,300 |
$2,500 |
Engineering |
$2,300 |
$2,400 |
$2,550 |
$2,500 |
$2,700 |
$2,850 |
$2,450 |
$2,500 |
$2,700 |
Health Sciences |
$2,550 |
$2,625 |
$2,852 |
$2,698 |
$2,800 |
$2,860 |
$2,553 |
$2,650 |
$2,854 |
Humanities & Social Sciences |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
$2,600 |
$2,580 |
$2,500 |
$2,800 |
$2,500 |
$2,500 |
$2,600 |
Information & Digital Technologies |
$2,300 |
$2,500 |
$2,700 |
$2,600 |
$2,700 |
$2,880 |
$2,500 |
$2,600 |
$2,747 |
Sciences |
$2,120 |
$2,200 |
$2,250 |
$2,500 |
$2,607 |
$2,570 |
$2,250 |
$2,250 |
$2,300 |
Overall |
$2,350 |
$2,400 |
$2,550 |
$2,500 |
$2,614 |
$2,800 |
$2,400 |
$2,500 |
$2,600 |
Fresh Graduates
4 8,406 out of 11,253 fresh graduates in 2022 responded to the survey. As at 1 Oct 2022, around six months after graduation, 57.9% of the respondents were in the labour force. 41.3% were pursuing or preparing to begin further studies and hence not looking for jobs. Most of the remaining 0.8% said they were taking a break and not seeking employment.
Post-National Service Graduates
5 5,296 out of 8,768 graduates from 2019 who completed their full-time National Service (NS) between 1 Apr 2021 and 31 Mar 2022 responded to the survey. 41.9% of respondents were in the labour force. 57.8% were pursuing or preparing to begin further studies and hence not looking for jobs. Similar to the fresh graduates, most of the remaining 0.3% said that they were taking a break and not seeking employment.
Support from the Polytechnics
6 The polytechnics support their graduates through career fairs and by offering career guidance and support, including job matching and personalised career coaching and planning. The polytechnics also tap on their network of industry partners to curate suitable job placement and apprenticeship opportunities for graduates, such as the SkillsFuture Work-Study Programmes.
7 Commenting on behalf of the Polytechnic GES Committee on the outcomes of the 2022 Polytechnic GES, Ms Jeanne Liew, Principal & CEO, Nanyang Polytechnic said, “Our polytechnic graduates continue to play a key role to augment Singapore’s manpower demands. The healthy employment rate and increase in median salary for both the fresh and post-National Service graduates reflect employers’ trust that our graduates are equipped with the necessary skills and competencies to excel in the workplace.”
The GES is jointly conducted by Nanyang Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic.